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Channel Surfing: ‘Nature: Ocean Giants’

We simply have to do something about these marauding gangs: males roaming in packs, chasing after females, slamming into one another, blowing bubbles. And, it should be noted, making life quite dangerous for the camera operators filming them.

Yes, Wednesday night’s three-part “Nature” extravaganza, “Ocean Giants,” does use the word “gang” to describe the humpback whales that take up a portion of the first hour. Males are shown vying for the attention of a female, a ritual that involves fin-slapping, bubble blowing, high-speed chasing and outright fighting. Doug Allan and Didier Noirot, both noted wildlife cameramen, capture these and other scenes in glorious detail, and the accompanying narration sexes things up markedly (at least for a “Nature” episode) with phrases like “lustful rivals” and “testosterone-fueled giants.”

In Part 2, dolphins also get the “gang” label, though their behaviors are less like a sumo bout and more like an episode of “Smash.” “Male dolphins form small groups that adopt highly synchronized movements and vocalizations,” we’re told. Five, six, seven, eight — again!

The programs, which are being broadcast consecutively (check local listings), are fascinating when they look at things like mating habits, but they become even more so when they explore the communication ability of these animals. Dolphins in a particular group in the Caribbean, we’re told, essentially have names for one another, because each is associated with a particular sound. And they apparently have been watching a lot of basketball, because they have mastered trash-talk. The cameras capture two groups of males as they fight not with physical force but with a sort of vocalized taunting.

One expert says that human technology is advancing in such a way that we might be able to have meaningful communication with dolphins within five years. Can an all-dolphin revival of “West Side Story” be far behind?